US House backs permanent tax breaks in massive bill
A massive bill that extends billions of dollars in tax assistance to businesses and expands the budget deficit won US House of Representatives approval on December 17 in the closest thing to a grand bipartisan tax bargain in years.
Lawmakers voted 318-109 for the US$622 billion measure, which is a step toward avoiding a government shutdown.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where it will likely be voted on together with a US$1.1 trillion spending bill that must be approved to avert a repeat of a government shutdown in 2013 that damaged the US economy.
The tax package was a major victory for corporate lobbyists and Republicans. It makes permanent dozens of costly corporate tax breaks such as the research and development tax credit that had until now have been temporary.
Middle-class Americans also benefit under the legislation. The bill offers aid to students, low-income parents, teachers and others, attracting support from the White House and House Democrats.
Republicans said the bill largely continues existing tax policy, but ends uncertainty for businesses and families by making permanent many tax breaks that previously had to be continually reviewed and renewed, sometimes for decades.
"With this bill in place, Americans will no longer have to worry each December if Congress will take action to extend certain tax-relief measures," said Kevin Brady, the Republican chairman of the House tax-writing committee.
Though it falls far short of the comprehensive tax reform that both Republicans and Democrats have sought for years, the package is a rare example of congressional action on a major economic issue. Passage of the deal was helped by the shrinking in recent years of the US budget deficit.
Republicans, who control the House, smoothed the way for the tax bill by making it part of the wider agreement in Congress to prevent the government from running out of funding in the coming days.
The broader legislation includes a proposal to lift a 40-year-old ban on US crude oil exports, a historic move that nevertheless would have little immediate effect on oil markets.
The House is due to vote on December 18 on the deal's spending segment. Under a plan worked out in bipartisan negotiations, the legislation would be combined and voted on in the Senate the same day.